


a faint illusion

by secondbutton



Series: Aelia Lavellan [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-01 18:57:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2784047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondbutton/pseuds/secondbutton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He always was good at following orders; obedience was a trait bred into him since the age of thirteen. Then, he thought he was fulfilling his destiny by pledging his sword to the Order. Now, he was older and knew better and was hard-pressed to find a calling higher than the Inquisitor and the sounds he could coax her to make.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"In the meantime we'll send soldiers to—" Cullen heard the door open and close and looked up to see the Inquisitor against the wall. They locked eyes and she granted him a wide grin and a short two finger salute. "... assist with the relief effort. That will be all."

Cullen followed the last of his generals as they filed out, making sure to lock the door behind them. Wearily, he rested against the wood, the day's responsibilities weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"There's always something more, isn't there?" He sighed.

"Wishing we were somewhere else?" She quipped.

He let a handful of rueful chuckles escape. "I barely found time to get away before."

He strode over to the center of the room and she followed, leaning her back against the edge of his table.

"I find myself wondering what will happen after. When this is over I won't want to move on. Not from you." He reached out a gloved hand to caress her face, his fingers brushing against the edges of her vallaslin. She placed her hand over his and rubbed her cheek against his palm, a serene look and a gentle smile gracing her features.

Despite her reassuring responses, he couldn't banish the doubt that loomed in the back of his mind. They had never talked of a future together, not really. It was a difficult conversation to have amidst a war. He knew that he wanted to be with her for as long as she'd have him. He had nowhere to go, no Circle to return to. His duties and his future lay with the Inquisition. But she had options. She had a clan that missed her, a way of life that was completely foreign to him. What did he have to offer in place of that?

"But I don't know what you—That is, if you—"

Uncertainty gripped him and he let her go, turning around and fiddling with something inconsequential so that he wouldn't have to look at her face as she responded.

"Cullen." She sounded determined and sure in the face of his doubt. "Do you need to ask?" She maneuvered herself to stand between him and what he was fiddling with. He made himself look at her, her face matching the determination in her voice, her large, gray eyes earnest.

"I suppose not. I—"

"What have I done that has given you cause to think that I wouldn't also want to be with you after all of this?"

"Nothing! It's just—" He reached for the back of his neck, and the sigh that escaped him sounded far more exasperated than he intended. He stepped back from her warmth, thinking of ways to express the multitude of emotions that flowed through him when she was around.

"You," He gestured vaguely in her direction. "You're the Inquisitor. The Herald of Andraste." She opened her mouth to protest. "And yes, I know that you detest that title but that doesn't change the fact that when you walk past, people bow and curtsy and call you 'your Worship.'"

He was pacing now, the words spilling out of his mouth. "I... I am a human, a commoner with nothing to his name but an abandoned Order and a struggle with addiction, whose career thus far has led to nothing but torture and the collapse of the Chantry!" 

He came back to her again, caging her against the desk with his bulk. He needed her to understand.

"I have nothing and you..." Both of his hands reached to cup her face, his thumbs brushing against the soft skin of her cheeks. "You are everything."

"Cullen, you are not nothing." She reached out to him, her hand a comforting warmth on his shoulder. "You are more than your past. You are strong and you are kind. Without you, the Inquisition would not be the same. _I_ would not be the same. I could not have done any of this without you." She let out a deep, heavy breath, her large eyes boring into his. "I chose you. To be my friend, to be my support, to be _mine_. And you deserve me. All of me."

He felt something shift inside of him then, the weight of a worry he'd been carrying since he first acknowledged his attraction to her eased, leaving his heart somehow feeling lighter and fuller at the same time. He grasped her face, his grip a little less gentle and more urgent now. She tilted her chin toward him in invitation, her full lips begging to be kissed. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, smiling in satisfaction as a happy sigh escaped her. He pressed his body against hers, pushing her against the table. He needed to be nearer, nearer.

The shattering of glass interrupted them, and they both glanced over the edge of the table to see shards of a bottle that she knocked over. Thinking quickly, Cullen shoved the rest of the table's contents off the edge. He lifted her onto the table before clambering up to cover her body with his, marveling as always at how small she was compared to him. He held himself up above her, cataloging the quick rise and fall of her chest, the sweet smile gracing her features, and the earnestness of her care and affection for him so obvious in her gray gaze. One of her hands snaked from his chest to the back of his head and pushed toward her mouth, fingers leaving a fiery trail of sensation in their wake. He obliged her, and their kiss was fierce, a melding of lips and tongues. Despite his need to surround himself with her, he wanted to go slow, to memorize everything that happened. She had other ideas though, it seemed, as she kept the hand that on the back of his skull and used it to anchor him against her as they kissed, her fingers scratching his scalp and pulling on his short hair while her tongue slipped past his lips and coaxed his to come out and play. He took control of the kiss from her, nibbling on her lower lip before pushing against her tongue, one hand bracing himself above her while the other traced fingers lightly against the curves of her waist and the side of her breast. His palm ghosted over one peak and she arched into him, demanding with her body that he touch her completely.

Impatient as ever, she didn't wait for him to remove her clothing, instead reaching for the buttons of her tunic instead. He intercepted her hand however, and leaned back on his haunches to use both of his hands to undo her buttons. He took his time, tracing his fingers from her collar down to the valley between her breasts, and further still to the hem of her tunic. She squirmed under him, her hips rubbing against his groin. Bursts of pleasure resounded through him as they touched, but he pulled from his discipline and willed himself to concentrate on the task at hand. He started unbuttoning from the bottom of the shirt, fingers a little clumsy from her distracting hips and the frustrated mewls coming from her mouth. His was a slow progress, for after each button opened he would caress the newly revealed skin with his hands and follow with slow, heated kisses against her stomach, her waist, her ribs. Finally, _finally_ he reached the buttons keeping her chest covered and he unclasped them, aware of how her breath had hitched and the desire in her eyes. He opened up her tunic and peeled off the cloth hiding her breasts from his view and leaned back, his eyes roving over her body appreciatively.

"Are you planning on staring all night, Commander?"

"Not at all." He settled his body over hers once again, one forearm braced against the solid wood of his desk while his free hand palmed one of her breasts. "I have a few other things in mind."

His lips met hers once again before drifting down her jaw and her neck and to a peaked nipple standing at attention. He captured it with his lips, alternating between long, languid strokes and quick nips. He paid the same attention to the other breast as her body rocked shamelessly against him, her bare skin warming the metal of his chest plate. His fingers wandered down between her legs, cupping her core. Even through her trousers and his gloves he could feel her warmth and the knowledge that he was the one that caused her arousal rocked through him, sending jolts to his groin. He pressed against her nub, rubbing sideways against the nerves, and she gasped, her spine arching as she pushed against his hand for more. Their breaths came in short gasps now, their shared arousal kindling the fire between them, and Cullen wanted all of their clothes _gone_.

It seemed as if she shared his thoughts on the matter as she pushed away his hand in favor of shimmying her trousers and her underclothes off her hips before spreading her legs and revealing herself to him.

"Touch me Cullen. _Please_."

He took in a ragged breath. Though he'd seen her naked before, unclothed, she was a vision. The wet petals of her core begged to be explored, but he was determined to do so without gloves and his clothes, needing to feel her skin on his. Never removing his eyes from her, he backed away, planting his feet on the floor once more and tried to make quick work of removing his armor. She groaned in frustration at the loss of his warmth, and he watched as her hand cut a determined path down her body and into her folds. She rubbed circles against her clit before plunging into her core, her fingers making deliciously slick noises while her hips ground against her hand. He watched hungrily, cock straining against its restrictions while she pleasured herself, naked and sweaty and _shameless_ on his desk. His name spilled forth from her lips as she sought her own release, "Cullen, Cullen, Cullen" a litany, a prayer. His hands trembled from barely restrained arousal as he undid the clasps of his armor, trembling slightly as he settled each piece of his armor gently on the floor.

Naked now, he strode over to her, their eyes locking as one of her hands thrusted fingers into her while the other danced in circles around her clit. Her whole body was flushed, a deep red evident even against the olive of her skin.

"Let me." He reached to pull away her hands and exchange them with his own. He cupped her sex, noting her wetness with pride, before slipping two fingers into her core. He watched her hands scrabble at the wooden surface of the table in a futile attempt to ground herself and his cock jolted at the groans that escaped her lips as he started pumping his fingers in and out, making sure to curl his fingers to press against the spot that unfailingly had her gasping in pleasure. His thumb reached for the bundle of nerves at her apex and her hips rocked violently in response, her walls clenching on his fingers.

" _Yes_ , Cullen. Please don't stop. Please don't stop."

He slowed his pace, wanting to delay her climax, before removing his fingers completely and shifting her hips closer to the edge of the table. He received an indignant whine and an impatient glower in response. He smiled at her benignly. "Trust me."

He kneeled in front of her, his face between her legs, and hooked her knees over his shoulders. He nipped the insides of her thighs, the stubble on his face tickling her skin and making her squirm. Finally, _finally_ , the flat of his tongue found her clit and he thrust his fingers back into her, following the erratic movements of her hips as best he could. This, they had discovered, was something at which he excelled. He'd had very little experience with sex before her, and she none at all. But she knew what she liked and had no compulsions against directing him. He always was good at following orders; obedience was a trait bred into him since the age of thirteen. Then, he thought he was fulfilling his destiny by pledging his sword to the Order. Now, he was older and knew better and was hard-pressed to find a calling higher than the Inquisitor and the sounds he could coax her to make.

He alternated using the flat of his tongue and the tip, knowing that the unpredictable changes in sensation would have her on edge. He could feel the additional moisture his efforts produced, his fingers slipping in and out easily enough that he decided it was time to add a third.

On his knees with his mouth against her core was the only way she'd ever let him worship her—"All of Thedas sees me as some sort of prophet, like I have all the answers. Truly I'm just a Dalish hunter who was too interested in shemlen dealings and was forced to learn how to save the world."—and he always did pray reverently, slowly, _thoroughly_.

She came with a violent buck of her hips and a short gasp of his name. He held her down, pressing harder against her clit, his fingers relentless in their thrusting. He could extend her climax like this, he knew, and turn it from a jump off the edge of a cliff to an avalanche of pleasure. When it became too much she pushed his head away, her chest rapidly rising and falling. He stood, his knees a little weary, but he reasoned it was worth seeing her out of breath yet completely languid at the same time.

"Cullen..." She reached for him and he leaned down, kissing her sweetly. "You are magnificent."

He gave her a small smile, still not completely accustomed to hearing such compliments. "As are you. I'm sure the image of you pleasuring yourself on my desk will be a permanent distraction."

She let out a short bark of laughter, a little lower in its usual intensity as she was still catching her breath. "I needed to leave you something to remember me by when you're stressed and cooped up in your office."

She swung her legs off of the desk and stood, reaching out to embrace him. He enveloped her in his arms and reveled in the happy sigh she released as she burrowed herself into his chest.

"Give me a second to regain my bearings and then it's your turn."

"Aelia, you don't need to—"

"Oh hush. You don't get to say that while you're still hard and pressed against my stomach." She reached between them and trailed her fingers lightly over his cock. "I always give credit where credit is due."


	2. Chapter 2

He lied down on the bed and watched as she went around the room and lit candles, shadows flickering all over her naked skin. When she finished she joined him on the bed and straddled his waist, her wet core torturously close to the tip of his cock. She leaned down and kissed him and he trailed his hands down her sides. One hand found the tip of her braid and untied the strip of leather that held it together while the other combed through her hair.

“Cullen, if you keep doing that, I’m going to fall asleep and then where will we be?”

His chest rumbled as he chuckled, but he obliged and placed his hands on her arse instead.

“Better?” He squeezed the firm flesh in his palms.

She responded with a sharp nip to his neck. Her lips trailed down his chest and his stomach, though she was not nearly as slow in her attentions as he had been earlier. She shimmied down his body before kneeling between his legs and taking his cock in her hand. Her fingers were light and teasing at first, gently coaxing his flagging erection into full prominence before she spit onto the head and spread the lubrication with long strokes.

The sight of her with his cock in her hand was irresistible, and instead of closing his eyes and leaning back, he watched her, transfixed. She remembered directions well, he noted, as she twisted her wrist and pumped her fist up and down his length. Her thumb focused on the spot under the crown, rubbing maddening circles across the raised flesh.

“Maker…”

She shot him a knowing smirk before brushing her hair back behind her ears and lowering her mouth to his tip. She took in just his head at first before hollowing her cheeks and lapping her tongue at the underside of his cock. He couldn’t control the buck in his hips as her wet warmth inched down his cock. His head fell against his pillow, eyes closed tight as he succumbed to the sheer pleasure her marvelous mouth was causing. She was sucking him in earnest now, her hand thrusting to help extend the friction past her lips all the way down his length.

His fists bunched the sheets at his sides and his hips matched her rhythm. He tried not to thrust too hard but it was almost impossible not to lose himself in her hands and mouth. Her name spilled past his lips: an agonized groan as he tried to maintain control over his body.

With a pop, she released his cock from between her lips, and instead used both of her hands to stroke him.

“Cullen, I want you inside me.”

He opened his eyes and craned his neck to look at her. “Are you sure?”

Her smile was wide as she responded, “Yes. I’m ready. And I want you.”

He grasped her arm and pulled her towards him. His hands cupped her face and he felt almost overwhelmed by the adoration he saw in her eyes. He couldn’t speak, throat closed off as he considered what this meant for them. They’d been exploring each other’s body for weeks now, learning what the other liked without actually going all the way. She wasn’t ready then, and he understood. The anticipation they’d built up was magnificent but now they would experience a more satisfying kind of bliss. He would make sure of it.

He arched up and captured her lips with his, attempting to pour all the affection he couldn’t voice into the gesture. He could feel her lips curve up as she returned his kiss.

“I am going to make this so good for you.”

He shifted so that he was on top of her. Her pale hair, now mostly free from its braid, fanned out over his pillow. The moonlight filtered through the cracks in his roof and randomly shone upon her skin. On his knees, he stayed still for a few seconds, awestruck in the face of her beauty. He leaned down and kissed all the spots where the light hit her: a brow, the edge of her jaw, the curve of her shoulder, her rib.

“Sweet Andraste, but you are beautiful.”

“I could say the same about you.”

She smiled up at him as one hand quested over the places he’d kissed before reaching its ultimate destination between her legs. He found her folds still wet from his earlier attentions and he inserted a finger. Her hips arched into his hand and his thumb rubbed circles around her clit. He added another finger and pressed the pads against the upper wall of her core. She rewarded him with a throaty moan and a strained whisper of his name.

“ _Cullen_.”

She was positively slick against him now, her juices completely coating his fingers. His cock ached to be inside her, but he was resolute in his mission. He stayed steady in his rhythm and before long he was coaxing loud exclamations from her mouth.

“Cu-Cullen! I’m going to--I’m!”

Her body tensed before her hips bucked erratically against his hand. He watched as she came, her eyes closed tight and mouth frozen in an ‘o.’ She pushed his hand away after several seconds, “Too much, Cullen, too much,” and laid still on the bed, forearm resting on her brow, breaths coming in harsh pants. He leaned back on his haunches between her legs, using the wetness on his hand to stroke himself back to a full erection. She peered under her arm, observing closely.

“Maybe you could do me a favor and do that while leaning against my desk? You’re not the only one that needs a distraction when working on reports.”

He shifted onto his hands and knees with a smile and loomed over her, “It’s a wonder you can speak right now, you were panting not a minute ago.”

“You take my breath away just fine, ma’lath, don’t worry.” She punctuated her point with a lascivious up-down of his bare chest.

“Mm, I think I’ll still try to do better next time though.” He took his cock in his hand and brushed the head against her clit in slow circles.

“That’s _definitely_ a good start,” she sighed softly. A chuckle rumbled through his chest.

“Are you ready?”

She lifted her head off his pillow and nodded. “I want you.”

He took her hips in his hands and pushed the head in. “Say it again.”

“I want you, Cullen.”

He pushed the rest of his cock into her, the slickness of her walls making the passage easy. He stopped for a few seconds and let them both get used to the sensation. She felt incredible; her wet warmth enveloped him completely. Her legs wrapped around his waist and pushed against his back, pleading for him to continue the delicious friction. He pulled out almost all the way before pushing back into her. His hips thrusted rhythmically, making sure to go as deep as possible to hit the spot that he knew would leave her sweaty and breathless.

“Aelia,” his own voice was breathy, almost uncontrolled. “You feel… _amazing_.”

“You too,” she panted out. “Deeper, ma’lath, _please_.”

He repositioned her legs so that they rested on his shoulders before leaning forward and thrusting into her. Her arched his back slightly so that he could kiss her. She deepened the kiss and nipped at his lower lip before pushing her tongue into his mouth. He kept his cock fully pressed into her as their tongues danced, and he could feel her clenching her core around him.    

He leaned back and pushed her thighs against her stomach. He slammed into her, letting gravity help him fill her completely. He kept his thrusts short and hard, intent on overwhelming the spot in her walls with pleasure. The sensation was almost stifling in its intensity, centering on his groin and spreading out all the way to the tips of his fingers, leaving his whole body pulsing.

Her hands used his forearms as anchors, her nails gouging deep marks into his skin as she matched his rhythm. She was shameless in the sounds she made, her moans deep and his name loud.

“Cullen, that feels so good.”

She was absolutely gorgeous--gray eyes squeezed tight against the onslaught of sensation, lithe body flexible and tensed around his cock, vallaslin wrinkled against her brow. She was driving him mad and he allowed himself to get lost in her, focusing on nothing but the slick warmth that wrapped around him.

His hand found its way between their bodies and her hips bucked as his fingers played lightly against her clit. Her body tensed as he pressed against the nub harder and he knew she was close. He kept thrusting though he felt his own release approaching. He wanted to completely overwhelm her with the force of her orgasm. It didn’t take long for her to fall off the edge, her moans coming out in staccato breaths.

“Oh, yes-- _yes_! Cullen-- _Cullen_!”

Her walls tightened around him and became wetter. The increased friction and the unpredictable pulsing of her muscles forced a groan out of him. He pulled out before his orgasm overwhelmed him and urgently guided her hand to stroke his slick length. His elbows buckled when he felt both her hands envelop him, his mind lost to the twist in her wrists. He thrusted into her hands frantically, blindly groping for his climax.

“Come for me, ma’lath,” she whispered.

“Aelia, I--” She sped up the pace of her hands suddenly. He watched spurts of white jet out of his cock and onto her belly and thighs. The force of his orgasm overtook him, swallowing him in waves of pleasure. For a few seconds his mind was blissfully blank while his body swam in languid satisfaction.

He opened his eyes and kissed her, lips slow and soft. The adoring look she gave him as he pushed back chased and lingering fears and demons away, and he felt lighter than he had in ages.

She was the first to break the silence between them, “That was absolutely fantastic. Breath taken away, definitely.”

He laughed. “I agree. You are a marvelous woman.”

He got off the bed and came back with a towel in hand. He swiped it across her skin, collecting the evidence of his orgasm. He climbed back into bed with her and pulled the sheets over both of them. His arm wrapped around her waist and spooned against her smaller frame.

“I trust that you know we’ll be doing this again tonight? I haven’t gotten nearly enough of you.” She pressed her arse against his groin. “This time, I want to be on top.”

**Author's Note:**

> I loved this scene in Cullen's romance but I felt like it needed to be a little longer and more emotional with a lot more smut. 
> 
> Cullen will get his just desserts soon; we can't leave our dear Commander hanging, right?


End file.
